Leon Roskilly

I find most breathable waterproofs are good at first, but all of them seem to break down after a few washes, even if the washing instructions are followed to the letter. Then it's a case of using fairly expensive propriety washing/waterproofing products (eg Nixwax) to try to get some value back. So, anyone still happy after 5 or 6 washes? Tight Lines - leon

Interesting site: http://web.tiscali.it/sv2001/index.htm Seems that shooting has little effect http://web.tiscali.it/sv2001/cormo_abstrac...0&%20Asferg.htm Tight Lines - leon [ 22 June 2002, 09:51 PM: Message edited by: Leon Roskilly ]

Interesting site: http://web.tiscali.it/sv2001/index.htm Seems that shooting has little effect http://web.tiscali.it/sv2001/cormo_abstrac...0&%20Asferg.htm Tight Lines - leon [ 22 June 2002, 09:51 PM: Message edited by: Leon Roskilly ]

I once saw someone lay a fish in the net, onto the ground, then lift the fish out of a net with dry hands and put it onto a dry unhooking mat - not good I swing the fish, in the landing net, onto the unhooking mat (which gets the mat good and wet), push my hands down onto the wet net/mat to wet them, then unhook the fish. I keep the fish in the net to put it back into the water, or if the fish is worth a photo and/or wighing, I cover the fish with the net to keep it calm whilst I ready my equipment (I prefer measuring to weighing, it takes less time). If taking a photo, always do it from the kneeling position (not standing), with the mat beneath the fish in case it manages to wriggle out of your grip. (I've learned the hard way that mullet can 'swim' out of your hands! It's like a rocket coming out of a launcher, which is why I now place a finger in the mullet's mouth whilst holding it - it can't shoot forward that way!) Tight Lines - leon

I once saw someone lay a fish in the net, onto the ground, then lift the fish out of a net with dry hands and put it onto a dry unhooking mat - not good I swing the fish, in the landing net, onto the unhooking mat (which gets the mat good and wet), push my hands down onto the wet net/mat to wet them, then unhook the fish. I keep the fish in the net to put it back into the water, or if the fish is worth a photo and/or wighing, I cover the fish with the net to keep it calm whilst I ready my equipment (I prefer measuring to weighing, it takes less time). If taking a photo, always do it from the kneeling position (not standing), with the mat beneath the fish in case it manages to wriggle out of your grip. (I've learned the hard way that mullet can 'swim' out of your hands! It's like a rocket coming out of a launcher, which is why I now place a finger in the mullet's mouth whilst holding it - it can't shoot forward that way!) Tight Lines - leon

This problem debated comprehensively at: http://anglersnet.co.uk/cgi-bin/ubb/ultima...ic;f=1;t=002029 Tight Lines - leon

I once watched one trying to swallow a sizeable flounder. The flounder seemed to lodge halfway down its throat. It took about 20 minutes to complete the swallowing. One of the most hilarious sights I've ever seen Tight Lines - leon

I once watched one trying to swallow a sizeable flounder. The flounder seemed to lodge halfway down its throat. It took about 20 minutes to complete the swallowing. One of the most hilarious sights I've ever seen Tight Lines - leon

Carry a bucket of bread mash, and walk upriver, dropping the mash into holding areas. Then fish your way back downstream, letting the current carry your bread-baited stick-float towards the pre-baited holding areas. More of a tactic for winter really. Tight Lines - leon

Carry a bucket of bread mash, and walk upriver, dropping the mash into holding areas. Then fish your way back downstream, letting the current carry your bread-baited stick-float towards the pre-baited holding areas. More of a tactic for winter really. Tight Lines - leon

Not only do some people fall for it, but they get bitten several times! 'Problems' arise which needs a bit more cash (for bribes etc). The punter who has already laid out money then has the dilemma of saying goodbye to his stake, or topping it up - some do. Then some well dressed gentlemen turn up from the Embassy, or the Nigerian police saying that they are gathering evidence, and there's a good chance that the punter will get all of his money back - of course the sting requires him to lay even more money on the line to recoup what he's lost so far! And they do!! No, not me! There was a programme on telly. Tight Lines - leon

Not only do some people fall for it, but they get bitten several times! 'Problems' arise which needs a bit more cash (for bribes etc). The punter who has already laid out money then has the dilemma of saying goodbye to his stake, or topping it up - some do. Then some well dressed gentlemen turn up from the Embassy, or the Nigerian police saying that they are gathering evidence, and there's a good chance that the punter will get all of his money back - of course the sting requires him to lay even more money on the line to recoup what he's lost so far! And they do!! No, not me! There was a programme on telly. Tight Lines - leon

quote: Originally posted by Dunk Fairley: [QB] The key seems to be, if you can make yourself smell like something which the mossies really dont want to bite, they leave you alone!!! [QB] Come to think of it, I've never been bitten when fishing near to Dunk either! We can put it to the test, if the weather let's us get into the beer-garden at the next MMG meeting (The mozzies there are something else!) Tight Lines - leon

quote: Originally posted by Dunk Fairley: [QB] The key seems to be, if you can make yourself smell like something which the mossies really dont want to bite, they leave you alone!!! [QB] Come to think of it, I've never been bitten when fishing near to Dunk either! We can put it to the test, if the weather let's us get into the beer-garden at the next MMG meeting (The mozzies there are something else!) Tight Lines - leon

I never fish opening day these years. The car parks are too full and too many people chucking stuff into the water. But the following week when they’ve all gone back to work……….. So, having taken a week in May to mute the constant reminders of all that decorating that needed doing (well I did some of it!), I managed to persuade my employers that my services weren’t needed this week (But that was disquietingly easy ) All I had to do was to resist the urge to go mullet fishing…….. June 17th Sitting on the end of Strood Pier with Jim, not a sign of a bite, and Jim complaining (not for the first time!) of the mullet’s complete lack of aesthetic appreciation. Jim swearing that once he was over the mullet bug, he would be stalking brownies along some idyllic chalk stream. June 18th I really had to go river fishing. (I’ve been corresponding with a young Chinese lad in Singapore who had read my article on Do-it-yourself lure making, and that had got my lure rods really twitching – well not so much difference between pike and barramundi! Well at least the morning’s rain had been more reminiscent of the monsoons!!) As the clouds broke, and the sun shone through, I was headed for the Medway at Teston. As I climbed from the car, it was the smells that got me first. Bankside flowers in their whites, and purples and yellows. I couldn’t see the river for wonderful vegetation. The working parties who had strimmed the car-park and cut swims in previous years had obviously lost their enthusiasm – marvellous. I fought my way to the second swim downstream of Barming Bridge, expecting all my plans to have been frustrated by the morning’s rain. No problem. There was colour and flow in the river, but it looked extremely fishable. But I abandoned my thought to use a DIY surface lure. The colour of the river cried out for a copper spoon, and I had one of Steve Burke’s Abu Atoms, still in its packaging. I removed the 2nd treble, crushed the barbs on the remaining treble with my de-hooking extra, extra long nosed pliers, and sharpened the points until they readily bit into my fingernails. Feeling like an eco-criminal, I cleared more of the lush vegetation from the swim, to give me casting room, and sent the lure zinging across the water. Scent of wild-flowers; green, green growth; blue sky, bluer more through polaroids; bird-song; electric blue damsel flies; blood red flowerheads; rippling water and swaying water plants; a black headed tern patrolling the river, swooping down upon a bleak; a young rabbit watching incredulously, just feet away. And the smells! Splash! The lure settled, and came back through the water-plants, describing its underwater journey through the braid. Again, it sailed out, and again came back, and again was sent glittering across the sky. A tug of weed, then another, and then a wriggle. The fish didn’t realise it was hooked, and neither did I. Then both of us did! Wow! I’d forgotten just how hard summer pike fought. Very long, and very wiry it lay on the mat. Er, how do you get the hook out of these things? (I’m getting old, I forget a lot in 3 months!) With long-nose pliers in my hand, I realised that the lure had already been expelled in the net, all I had to do was to release the creature back into the flowing river. Soon the fish was on its way. Then, along the river I worked. All the sights, all the sounds as though they all were new. The tern flew past again, and flew past again. Fish dappled the surface with their weals. Pugnacious perch attacked the Atom regardless of the fact that it was bigger than themselves. I wish I had bought my stick-float tackle along, the river cries out for it. It was like coming home after a long journey, away to distant lands. The belated magic of June 16th. June 19th The strangest shaped mullet I’d ever seen spun my centrepin, striping line as Brian stood by with the net, and Jim called out in encouragement, regardless of the fact that I was poaching his mark! …………………………… Come October, when the mullet finally go, I’ll be back down the river again! Tight Lines - leon

I never fish opening day these years. The car parks are too full and too many people chucking stuff into the water. But the following week when they’ve all gone back to work……….. So, having taken a week in May to mute the constant reminders of all that decorating that needed doing (well I did some of it!), I managed to persuade my employers that my services weren’t needed this week (But that was disquietingly easy ) All I had to do was to resist the urge to go mullet fishing…….. June 17th Sitting on the end of Strood Pier with Jim, not a sign of a bite, and Jim complaining (not for the first time!) of the mullet’s complete lack of aesthetic appreciation. Jim swearing that once he was over the mullet bug, he would be stalking brownies along some idyllic chalk stream. June 18th I really had to go river fishing. (I’ve been corresponding with a young Chinese lad in Singapore who had read my article on Do-it-yourself lure making, and that had got my lure rods really twitching – well not so much difference between pike and barramundi! Well at least the morning’s rain had been more reminiscent of the monsoons!!) As the clouds broke, and the sun shone through, I was headed for the Medway at Teston. As I climbed from the car, it was the smells that got me first. Bankside flowers in their whites, and purples and yellows. I couldn’t see the river for wonderful vegetation. The working parties who had strimmed the car-park and cut swims in previous years had obviously lost their enthusiasm – marvellous. I fought my way to the second swim downstream of Barming Bridge, expecting all my plans to have been frustrated by the morning’s rain. No problem. There was colour and flow in the river, but it looked extremely fishable. But I abandoned my thought to use a DIY surface lure. The colour of the river cried out for a copper spoon, and I had one of Steve Burke’s Abu Atoms, still in its packaging. I removed the 2nd treble, crushed the barbs on the remaining treble with my de-hooking extra, extra long nosed pliers, and sharpened the points until they readily bit into my fingernails. Feeling like an eco-criminal, I cleared more of the lush vegetation from the swim, to give me casting room, and sent the lure zinging across the water. Scent of wild-flowers; green, green growth; blue sky, bluer more through polaroids; bird-song; electric blue damsel flies; blood red flowerheads; rippling water and swaying water plants; a black headed tern patrolling the river, swooping down upon a bleak; a young rabbit watching incredulously, just feet away. And the smells! Splash! The lure settled, and came back through the water-plants, describing its underwater journey through the braid. Again, it sailed out, and again came back, and again was sent glittering across the sky. A tug of weed, then another, and then a wriggle. The fish didn’t realise it was hooked, and neither did I. Then both of us did! Wow! I’d forgotten just how hard summer pike fought. Very long, and very wiry it lay on the mat. Er, how do you get the hook out of these things? (I’m getting old, I forget a lot in 3 months!) With long-nose pliers in my hand, I realised that the lure had already been expelled in the net, all I had to do was to release the creature back into the flowing river. Soon the fish was on its way. Then, along the river I worked. All the sights, all the sounds as though they all were new. The tern flew past again, and flew past again. Fish dappled the surface with their weals. Pugnacious perch attacked the Atom regardless of the fact that it was bigger than themselves. I wish I had bought my stick-float tackle along, the river cries out for it. It was like coming home after a long journey, away to distant lands. The belated magic of June 16th. June 19th The strangest shaped mullet I’d ever seen spun my centrepin, striping line as Brian stood by with the net, and Jim called out in encouragement, regardless of the fact that I was poaching his mark! …………………………… Come October, when the mullet finally go, I’ll be back down the river again! Tight Lines - leon

Every river is very different. Depth, flow, clarity, species, river traffic, waterweed. A lot of anglers tackle rivers, much as they would a lake with an undertow, or nail their bait to the bottom with a feeder. They might just as well fish a lake! The essence of river fishing (as opposed to still-water fishing) is to use the flow. If there is any flow at all, learn to fish with a stick float and centre-pin. It will take years to learn all the secrets, but that's all part of the fun of fishing. To get you started, have a look at: http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/authors/leon08.htm Tight Lines - leon

Every river is very different. Depth, flow, clarity, species, river traffic, waterweed. A lot of anglers tackle rivers, much as they would a lake with an undertow, or nail their bait to the bottom with a feeder. They might just as well fish a lake! The essence of river fishing (as opposed to still-water fishing) is to use the flow. If there is any flow at all, learn to fish with a stick float and centre-pin. It will take years to learn all the secrets, but that's all part of the fun of fishing. To get you started, have a look at: http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/authors/leon08.htm Tight Lines - leon

I was getting a lot of emails with KlezH attached. (And what a sneaky little bastard that has become!) As this forges the 'sender' address, I couldn't identify who amongst my considerable contacts was infected. The fact that some of them were receiving viruses, supposedly originating from me, illustrated that we had a common contact. So I put together a virus warning with links to the Norton description of the virus, and how to disinfect the machine, sent it out to nearly everyone I correspond with, and I haven't had one since!! Coincidence, or good hygiene? http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcen....klez.h@mm.html Tight Lines - leon

A few weeks ago, one popped his head out about 25 yards off of Sun Pier, right in the middle of Chatham Town Centre, not far from where we you can sometimes find roach on the end of the line when fishing for mullet!! Tight Lines - leon

I was puzzled to find that, although reports all said that fish stocks were low, fishermen were increasingly complaining about the fast expanding seal population. Then it clicked. My local estuary is choked with small whiting in the winter, tiny pout all year round. These fish are cod/big bass food. The reason there are so many small fish is that the larger fishy predators have been hammered by the commercials. That's good news for seals - no competition from fishy predators. OK, the big meals have disappeared, but there's plenty of snacks to be had! As well as an increase in the number of seals, the commercials have another problem. Whiting love cod eggs and fry. When there's plenty of adult cod around to eat the whiting, that's not too much of a problem, but when the whiting get the upper hand, with a little help from overfishing, the cod are unable to ever get back on top again. So when the cod have gone, they could be gone forever That seems to be what has happened on the Grand Banks off of Canada. They fished out the big cod, realised too late that they had to stop hammering them, and waited for them to recover. Except they didn't recover. They couldn't get back on top again. What we really have to do is to put an end to the pair trawling of spawning bass. It takes many years for a bass to get to a decent size, and I'm bored catching 2-4lbers Tight Lines - leon Sea Anglers' Conservation Network (SACN) http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/sacn

Here's some more: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/diary/j...e10thaug01.html http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/diary/c...26thjuly01.html Tight Lines - Leon Medway Mullet Group http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/medway

And it's well to remember that fish don't percieve their environment in the same way that humans do. Visibility is often of academic interest to fish; when feeding at night, or in very murky water for instance! I expect that they are able to see 'invisible' (or near invisible) line quite clearly. We'd understand our tackle a lot better if we had use of a lateral line too! Tight Lines - leon

And it's well to remember that fish don't percieve their environment in the same way that humans do. Visibility is often of academic interest to fish; when feeding at night, or in very murky water for instance! I expect that they are able to see 'invisible' (or near invisible) line quite clearly. We'd understand our tackle a lot better if we had use of a lateral line too! Tight Lines - leon

Er, better call it a grey mullet Tim, red mullet are something altogether different! Tight Lines - leon